Documents Manfredi, Simonetta 4 results

"This article considers how policy makers across Europe can meet the challenges of extending working lives, is a key element of the ‘Active Ageing' agenda, whilst at the same time striking a balance between the interests of older workers, those of younger generations to access jobs and career opportunities, and the interests of employers in workforce planning. It examines the experience of the UK which removed mandatory retirement in October 2011 and argues that, viewed from a Marxist perspective, the developments in the UK have failed to strike the correct balance between the different interests at stake, and has instead taken a neo-liberal approach to the regulation of retirement. It then moves to consider retirement from an equalities perspective and suggests that retaining some form of regulation of the end of working lives can still meet the demands of equality. The final section discusses some proposals for reform."

"This article reviews the effectiveness of the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED), based on insights from debates within equality law and theories of regulation. Drawing on examples of its practical implementation, the strengths and weaknesses of the ‘reflexive turn' in equality law are assessed. While recognising the concerns raised regarding second-generation regulation, such as its inability to address structural power relations, the article proposes that this form of regulation has some merit when applied to equality law. First, the participatory processes that it produces can in themselves be viewed as equality outcomes, particularly when equality is understood to encompass the participation and inclusion of vulnerable groups. Second, this form of regulation can introduce change within organisations, proving reasonably resilient once embedded in standards of good management practice. The paper does not suggest that the processes of the PSED cannot be improved and instead proposes a number of ways in which second-generation regulation can be made more effective. However, it argues that examples of the implementation of the PSED show how reflexive regulation can provide more effective and resilient means to support the realisation of equality and social justice than at first appears. "